I used to enjoy working the polls. A chance to do something that had a civic value. A chance to build a sense of community.

After this election I will never work the polls again.

Since last Thursday I have had so many of my neighbors come up to me in the booth and express their contempt for me just because I am wearing an election vest.
They don’t know I live on the same street or in the same neighborhood. They think I am part of the 'big scheme'.

It would be a mistake to say we have "given" Republicans all the rope they want. Truth be told, they have taken it, pure and simple. In their reckless lust for power, they have crossed every boundary of decency and fairness. In pursuit of domination, they have thrown aside integrity, local control, and personal freedom. They have behaved like bulls in a china shop, stomping adversaries into oblivion, just because they could.

Everyone I talk with who cares about North Carolina has a different issue that triggers their outrage, and goodness knows there are so many sources to choose from. If you're willing, please list the top three actions the GOP legislature has taken or might take that most upset you. I'm making a list.

Art Pope is in the news again, this time telling lies about me, BlueNC, and alleged threats he received. It all goes back to several years ago, when I mused that some people could get so frustrated with politics that they might resort to violence. Pope, who has friends in high places, took those musings personally and asked the Wake County District Attorney's office to check me out. The matter was dropped in minutes, as a complaint without merit.

A few years ago, Meteor Blades at Daily Kos started a weekly diary recognizing efforts by progressive state blogs on the front page at Kos, putting those diaries in front of thousands of readers. And our efforts here are frequently included:

At bluenc of North Carolina, scharrison writes—GOP tax reform: Lose your home to foreclosure, and then pay taxes on it: They have absolutely no shame: "One of the other provisions in the legislation would startlingly hurt homeowners struggling with foreclosure by counting as income any portion of their mortgage debt forgiven by a lender.

Sen. Tamara Barringer, a Republican, bucked her leadership and voted against the bill because of the change, telling the News & Observer, “these are people that have lost their homes. Are we going to tax them when they’re trying to get back on their feet?” Apparently the answer from Senate leaders is yes. There were no hearings on that part of the gas tax bill, no discussion with mortgage lenders or people who work with struggling homeowners.

Even if you don't frequent Daily Kos, you should bookmark this tag and keep up with this series. It's good to know there are smart progressive bloggers in other states, struggling with issues just like we are. Here are some more crossposts from 2015:

Happy 10th birthday BlueNC! In blog years, that's ancient and I think we wear it well. Blogging has changed a lot over the years and our audience has changed too. We've seen social media grow in importance and every professional journalist seems to also be a blogger these days. We still see a good deal of traffic here at BlueNC, though our comment section isn't as active as it used to be. With all the changes in how we get our news, BlueNC continues to be the best source for progressive political news and discussions. We thank you all for your continued support.

We continually tweak BlueNC with the goal of improving the experience for readers and encouraging engagement. With that in mind, we made a small tweak to the site today: Community members can now publish directly to the front page. We're thinking of this as an experiment, with no commitment to permanence. If it works, great. If it doesn't, we'll find out soon enough. As always, we reserve the absolute right to delete any posts that are inappropriate or intolerably obnoxious. Enjoy.

BlueNC is a labor of love. Views expressed by any particular community member are simply that: the views of that particular member. If you have questions or concerns about the content you see here, please contact us.